A Great Warrior is Layed to Rest (Part 1 of 4)

By Rick Dalton

 

Jack McLamb has passed away.  11 January 2014 was his last day in this life, and his first day in the next life.  Gerald J. “Jack” Mclamb has been described in various ways by many leaders in the Freedom struggle.  Sheriff Richard Mack, of CSPOA lauded Jack as a longtime mentor and "the original Oathkeeper (see Oathkeepers.org.  See that post here. 

 Pastor Chuck Baldwin calls him “Another Moses”.  His wonderful tribute to Jack can be found here.  

So many people loved and respected Jack McLamb.  This is because he was a man full of love, love for his family, his fellow man, his Savior, his profession as a true peace officer, and his country.  You may ask how I can say that.  It's not from simply reading those tributes of others.  This writer has been blessed to know Jack McLamb in a personal way for over thirty years.  Yes, I am an eye witness to greatness. 

In 1980, with just two years on as a member of the Mesa, Arizona Police Department, I was so excited to be on a team of dedicated people who wanted to serve their community and be peacemakers.  The oath we all took was meaningful to me, and my service style -was going to be just like the words on the doors of every patrol car in the fleet, “To Protect and Serve”.  But I didn’t realize that there was a struggle going on, even back then, to maintain that hallowed philosophy for future generations.                                                                            Jack was a candle in a dark world

The regional police academy in Phoenix was hard and rewarding, and I remember two instructors in particular.  The first, I only remember by his look – tall and thin with curly hair almost in an afro style – and the striking sentence he uttered early in his lecture.  He said distinctly “the Communist/Socialist  conspiracy is alive and well in the United States of America”.  That surprised me.  I'm not surprised any more.

The second was Captain Bennie Click, of Phoenix PD, who later rose to assistant chief, and then chief of the Dallas, Texas  Police Department.  Capt. Click would occasionally accompany us on our seven and a half mile runs, and often gave advice to my class of recruits.  He told us that the most important attributes of a good police officer were character and integrity.  I would soon see those attributes on full display in Jack Mclamb’s professional and personal life.

I first became aware of Jack Mclamb when I turned on a local public affairs television program.  This was in December of 1980.  He was being interviewed about his recently published booklet “A Lawman Speaks for Liberty”.  As you might have noticed, this is the title of the blog you are reading.  I  humbly have borrowed it as a small way to help carry on Jack’s legacy. 

That little tract, eight pages or so in length, was so inspirational and powerful to me, that I had to meet this cop who wrote it.  I called the TV station and demanded to get his address and phone number.  Of course they refused, but they did take my information and gave it to Jack.  When he called I immediately sensed the kindness in his voice.  Here was this imposing figure I had seen on TV with a gentleness that seemed unlike the stereotypical tough-guy police officer.  He invited me to visit him at his home in South Phoenix and I made the trip a day or two later.  As we sat in his living room and talked,  I was impressed by his candor, humility, and direct manner of speaking.  I knew that he meant what he said in the booklet.  After talking a while about the Constitution and the sacred nature of the oath that we took he reminded me about the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.  This is the original one he and I promised to uphold.  It was a sort of oath of office.  The closing statement says:  "I will constantly strive to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself before to God to my chosen profession...law enforcement."  And Jack reminded me that as I left the briefing room each day, and headed out to my beat, God was watching me, and every peace officer.  That is the kind of man he was.

This code of ethics has been changed in today's world, and, as you might have guessed, that part that mentions God has been removed.  Instead of an oath, it's now just a statement of "ethics", and in our modern times, we now have "situational ethics".

After a while, he said, "Rick, come with me.  I want to show you something in the bathroom."  Needless to say I was a little surprised and perplexed, but I got up and followed him.  Once in the bathroom, he pointed to the bathtub, with it's closed shower curtain, and said "check this out", whereupon he slid open the screen, and introduced me to Ally Oop, a 5-foot alligator of the live variety.  Just as I gasped to see such an unlikely scene, the monster gave out a loud hiss and heaved himself halfway out of the tub, water spilling all over the floor.  Jack was standing between me and Ally Oop, I'm sure it was intentional, and pushed him back with a broom handle.  [TO BE CONTINUED]

It's Time for Law Enforcement to copy Walmart

By Rick Dalton

Rollback

Yes, just like the famous price "rollback" that has endeared the world's largest retailer to customers nationwide, it's time for America's law enforcement community to take a serious look at the disturbing - and deadly - trend of militarization, and to roll it back.

                                                                Sheriff's or Soldiers?

With an increasingly  frantic pace, the number of paramilitary raids on American citizens by militarized civilian law enforcement personnel has skyrocketed from about 3,000 in 1985 to more than 40,000 annually today. (source: Cato Institute).  Some estimates are as high as 80,000.

http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/balko_whitepaper_2006.pdf

These operations, which have resulted in innocent and unnecessary injuries and deaths to civilians and police as well, increasingly employ what is clearly overkill.  The use of excessive force is becoming more common, and in an alarming number of cases, the wrong suspects are targeted.

Military Hardware

The idea of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) came about in the 1960s in Los Angeles, and with increasing sophistication of criminal gangs and other like organizations, there is some justification when the suspects of the service of an arrest or search warrant are known known to be violent and to possess weapons.  But is there a need for over $500 million in military equipment - tanks, APCs, etc. -  to be transferred to civilian law enforcement in only one year (2011)?

Violence potential

Many of the raids being conducted, too often with tragic results, are to serve narcotics warrants, and manuy of the suspects are non-violent offenders, living with their families, including children.

                                         Citizens were subjected to military urban warfare tactics

                                         during the hunt for the Boston Bombing suspects.

Our first responders

The Alligator is Too Big for the Bathtub

by

Rick Dalton

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.  And to the Social Democracy for which it stands.

Did you notice anything different in this portion of our pledge that is recited in fewer and fewer schools each year?  One word was replaced by two.  One term by another.  So, as Hillary famously said at the congressional hearings on the Benghazi cover-up, "What difference does it make?"

I guess it makes a difference to Professor Lane Kenworthy, of the University of Arizona.  His newly released book Social Democratic America, (Oxford University Press) makes the case that America is, or should become a social democratic nation. In chapter one of his book, Kenworthy lists some problems America faces: 

"..too few ordinary Americans have adequate economic security, too few who grow up in disadvantaged circumstances are able to reach the middle class, and too few have seen their boat lifted when the economic tide rises". Kenworthy, Lane (2013-11-16). Social Democratic America (p. 1). Oxford University Press, USA. Kindle Edition.

So what is the key to a solution for these problems, according to Professor Kenworthy?

"The key to a solution? Government social programs." Ibid.

Government. Social programs.  So this is democracy according to Kenworthy?  The answer to our problems is government, more government, bigger government.  Those words might as well have been written by Barack Obama.  The ideas have failed wherever and whenever they have been tried.

Types of Government

We often hear the word democracy used to describe our form of government, but do we really think about it? Did you immediately think of the original term in the Pledge?

REPUBLIC.

That’s what America was when the writers of the U.S. Constitution emerged from the deliberations of that long hot summer in Philadelphia in 1787.  In fact, a woman actually asked Benjamin Franklin what the Framers had given to “We The People”.  His reply was “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”

A republic is a system of elected representatives using elements of majority rule, but with the guarantee of minority rights.

 A democracy is basically rule by the majority.  It hasn’t brought freedom, prosperity and peace – the three basic yearnings of mankind – anywhere it has been used as  form of government.  Franklin said democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for dinner.  That’s why the Framers specifically rejected it.

A social democracy is something entirely different from these two terms.

.

so·cial de·moc·ra·cy

noun

1.    1.

a socialist system of government achieved by democratic means.  (source: Wikipedia)

 /socialism‎  a way of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled

  by the government rather than by individual people and companies .." (Webster's Dictionary)

Many of the socialist nations of Europe, for example, are social democracies. (For the best brief and clear analysis of the basic types of government in the world, click here.)

So What's in Our Future?

A new article by Kenworthy (pictured at left) predicts how the U.S. will be in the future.  The article appears in the January/February 2014 issue of Foreign Affairs, the main publication of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).  Read the entire article by clicking here.  He says:

    "Over the past century, the United States, like other rich         nations, has created a number of public insurance                   programs. But to achieve genuine economic security,          equal opportunity, and shared prosperity in the new                economy, over the course of the next half century, the          federal government will need to greatly expand the range      and scope of its existing social insurance programs and        introduce new programs." (Foreign Affairs, p. 94)

 Equal opportunity, genuine economic security, and shared prosperity?  All this equality is going to come directly from the government?  Everyone will have a guaranteed income, government provided "public sickness insurance" and equality with everyone else?  Impossible without destroying liberty, property rights, and other Constitutional rights.

Now we get to the Alligator

I bet you thought I would never get to the alligator.  Jack McLamb, retired Phoenix Police officer and freedom warrior par excellence, is one of my heroes.  I met him in 1980 when I read a pamphlet he wrote entitled A Lawman Speaks for Liberty.  Yes, it's his title that I have placed at the head of this blog.  Anyway, the first time I visited him at his Phoenix home, he showed me something in his bathtub.  It was Alley Oop, his five-foot alligator that he previously used in his Officer Friendly presentations at elementary schools.  This monster was now too big to take into schools, and so he kept him in the tub!  As Jack pulled back the shower curtain, Alley Oop hissed and jumped halfway out of the tub.

Latest news:  Jack McLamb passed away yesterday after a battle with a degenerative disease.  My next post will be a tribute to my friend, brother and hero.

Jokingly Jack said "that's the problem with alligators.  You feed them and they get bigger. He's way too big for the bathtub.  Pretty soon he's gonna hurt somebody and I'm gonna have to cage him up or kill him."

Well, that's our problem in America today.  The alligator in the tub is the federal government, and to some degree the state governments.  Because we have fed it, it has grown larger than even the "cage" called the Constitution.  The chains spoken of by Jefferson have been broken and only We the People can repair them.  We must return to limited government in a republic.

The Council on Foreign Relations and Lane Kenworthy, along with many other socialist professors, or so it appears, are pushing for a bigger prize:  equality of nations.  The standard of living of the US and other so-called rich nations must reduced so that we can be comfortably be merged into a one-world government, which will trample on our liberties and reduce each individual (except the privileged few who administer this social democracy) to a minute cog in the machinery of socialism.  Is that what you want?  If not, what are you doing about it?  Kenworthy proclaims in his book that we, who oppose statism and support individual liberty are "fighting a losing battle".

Are you going to be just another sheep eaten by the wolves and alligators, or are we going to get us some alligator shoes?  The next post will outline concrete things you can do to increase freedom in America.

FRDMWRX

Valley Forge: The Crucible of American Liberty

By Rick Dalton

As we hustle around this Christmas season, complaining about this or that, grumbling about the terrible weather, I think it would be good for us to remember a different time, under different circumstances, when hardships we cannot begin to understand were the regular course of daily life.  I speak of Valley Forge Pennsylvania.  Two hundred Thirty six years ago today, on 20 December 1777, the rag-tag army of volunteers under George Washington shivered in the bitter cold, naked, starving and yet, hopeful.  They died at the rate of twelve per day.

For what?  For an idea.

 For freedom.

May we somehow find the courage and hope today to meet the challenges of our own Valley Forge today. Freedom is not free.  And freedom, with the accompanying personal responsibility of every citizen, is the only answer to our problems in America.  This account below taken entirely  from American Minute, and I encourage you to go to the site and subscribe to the free newsletter..  There is an excellent archive of previous editions.   Merry Christmas and Godspeed.

FRDMWRX

The Distinguished Character of Patriot

Taken from “American Minute” by Bill Federer www.americanminute.com

After the American victory at Saratoga, British General Howe struck back by driving the patriots out of Philadelphia. On DECEMBER 19, 1777, over 11,000 American soldiers set up camp at Valley Forge, just 25 miles outside Philadelphia. Meanwhile, another 11,000 Americans were dying on British starving ships.

Soldiers at Valley Forge were from every State in the new union, some as young as 12 and others as old as 60.Among them were Marquis de Lafayette and John Marshall, the future Chief Justice.

Though most were of European descent, some were African American and American Indian.Lacking food and supplies, soldiers died at the rate of twelve per day.Over 2,500 froze to death in bitter cold, or perished from hunger, typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, and pneumonia.  In addition, hundreds of horses perished in the freezing weather.

A Committee from Congress reported on the soldiers:

"Feet and legs froze till they became black, and it was often necessary to amputate them.”  Of the wives and children who followed the army, mending clothes, doing laundry and scavenging for food, an estimated 500 died.

Two days before Christmas, George Washington wrote:  "We have this day no less than 2,873 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked."
 

Washington wrote:

"We have this day no less than 2,873 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked."

On April 21, 1778, Washington wrote to Lt. Col. John Banister:
"No history...can furnish an instance of an army's suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done, and bearing them with the same patience and fortitude
To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes, by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet, and almost as often without provisions...marching through frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up their winter quarters within a day's march of the enemy, without a house or hut to cover them...can scarce be paralleled. 

Despite these conditions, soldiers prepared to fight.

In February, 1778, there arrived in the camp a Prussian drill master, Baron Friedrich von Steuben, who had been a member of the elite General Staff of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.  Baron von Steuben, who was sent with the recommendation of  Ben Franklin, drilled the soldiers daily, transforming the American volunteers into an army. 

Lutheran Pastor Henry Muhlenberg, whose sons Peter and Frederick served in the First U.S. Congress, wrote in The Notebook of a Colonial Clergyman

"I heard a fine example today, namely, that His Excellency General Washington rode around among his army yesterday and admonished each and every one to fear God, to put away the wickedness ... and to practice the Christian virtues ... 

God has ... marvelously, preserved him from harm in the midst of countless perils, ambuscades, fatigues.”

Washington successfully kept the army intact through the devastating winter, and gave the order at Valley Forge, April 12, 1778:

"The Honorable Congress having thought proper to recommend to the United States of America to set apart Wednesday, the 22nd inst., to be observed as a day of  Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, that at one time, and with one voice, the righteous dispensations of  Providence may be acknowledged, and  His goodness and mercy towards our arms supplicated and implored:

“The General directs that the day shall be most religiously observed in the Army; that no work shall be done thereon, and that the several chaplains do prepare discourses."

On May 2, 1778, Washington ordered:

"The Commander-in-Chief directs that Divine service be performed every Sunday...To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest Glory to laud the more distinguished Character of Christian.”

FRDMWRX

Cynicism: A Dreadful Malady, by Rick Dalton

Rick Dalton





"A cynic is a man who when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin." 

H.L. Mencken 

A friend of mine, (and he is truly a dear friend) who has finally come to the realization that America is in deep trouble, and that Obama (the man he voted for in 2008) is not the hope of the world, has become so cynical because of his diligent study of the signs of the times, that he sees no way out short of violent revolution.  here's what he said in a recent email:

It boils down to this.  The US is no longer the Republic the founding fathers put together.  "Because of this, there is NO POLITICAL SOLUTION to getting “back to the founding fathers”.  That ship sailed long ago.  Thinking that the US can be fixed politically (you know, that the people are going to magically become more moral, patriotic) is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  If it gives you goose bumps to listen to Reagan and his canned speech, then enjoy yourself with that."... Reagan is a puppet trying to foster nationalistic sentiments…no more, no less."

My friend (let's call him Frank) confuses nationalism with patriotism, and believes they are the same.   Not so.  Frank says he has no patriotism for America.  But is it still possible to have patriotic feelings toward America in spite of the problems we have?  Frank and I both agree on the scope of corruption and the goal of the criminal conspiracy that wants to take us down.  But I am proud to be called a patriot, and  Frank says patriotism has been "burned out" of him. Well, here's what patriotism is to me: 

“Patriotism means unqualified and unwavering love for the nation, which implies not uncritical eagerness to serve, not support for unjust claims, but frank assessment of its vices and sins, and penitence for them”

~Alexander Solzhenitsyn~   Solzhenitsyn knows a lot about  living in a nation that is ruled by evil people, and about patriotism.  He did what he did, risking his life to try and increase freedom in The Soviet Union, because he loved his mother country in spite of her sins.  He worked tirelessly for a better country, and he never gave in to crippling cynicism.                  "What is a cynic?  A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."                  ~Oscar Wilde~ This brings me to the main point of this post. The only way to lose, in the end, is to give up. The cynic can see all the faults in America; he can see all the dead-ends blocked off by the ruling elite.  Well, here's how Frank put it in an email to me today, Thanksgiving day: "The powers that be have such power that there is no political solution (no reason to enter public office) ·         The Constitution is dead ·         It doesn’t matter who you vote for, the owners can lose enough votes to get their man in (Romney and the lost 8 million votes) ·         Ron Paul could never be in the White House (like Romney) because the powers at be can’t have a moral man in the presidency ·         Alex Jones- good ·         We will not be able to win our Liberty back..."  So why try?  Why not just give up, and get ready to be enslaved in a massive dictatorship?  Why not become a government informant and at least earn some brownie points with the masters?  I have archived over five-hundred emails with Frank, and after looking back through them, I can't find a single positive statement about the future.  Not a single account of something he is doing to help turn the situation around.  Not a single suggestion or idea of something that can be done to improve our lot in America.  It kind of makes me want to go out and eat worms. There's not a single mention in  Frank's emails of any part of the Constitution that we can still use to increase freedom, or any part that he thinks is still operative. Wow, Frank, we're toast, we're doomed.  The only answer, as he has told me many times is revolution.  I say, maybe, someday, but not yet. One of Frank's favorite people is Ron Paul.  Dr. Paul knows how bad it is in America.  He's been warning about it for decades.  Yet, in spite of all our looming difficulties, he is still hopeful and positive in his approach.  In a recent video prepared for his supporters, and, I might venture, even for people like Frank, Ron Paul spoke of two things that give him encouragement.  First, he is grateful for the First Amendment that allows him - and me -  to speak out and criticize the policies of government that hold us back, to write about our heritage of freedom and the answers the Founders provided us.  Ron Paul has hope....and he's doing something about it.  Second, he has hope in the rising generation.  Which is why he has dedicated his life to education.  And in a small way, that's my chosen avenue to help in the fight for freedom. OK, so what about other informed Americans' states of mind?  And maybe interplanetary travelers? Have you ever noticed that heroes,  be they revolutionary war heroes, inventors, or the millions of everyday heroes who walk the streets, work in the factories and homes of America, just seem to get up each day and continue to provide for their families, help others, contribute to their communities and just keep on keepin' on? And when they see the corruption, corporate cronyism, criminal escapades and political skullduggery, they don't get discouraged and cynical.  They don't complain and point out everything that is wrong while sitting in their easy chairs yelling at the TV.  They find something they can do to help. Take Patrick Henry.  He didn't hid his head in the sand, and he didn't shy away from the cold hard truth.  And he spread the word to to others, along with leadership in righting the wrongs of the British government.  For him, it was all or nothing, "liberty or death." "For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it." So Frank, what I'm trying to say, is that yes, we do need to know how bad it is, but we also need to know what can be done to help improve the situation, if only in our local area.  I urge all to try and locate a copy of the May 25th 1998 edition of The New American magazine, published by the the John Birch Society.  An article therein, titled "Hope's Foundation".  This article quotes Robert E. Lee, who said, "My experience of men has neither disposed me to think worse of them, nor indisposed me to serve them; nor, in spite of failures, which I lament, of errors, which I now see and acknowledge, or of the present state of affairs, do I despair of the future.  The march of Providence is so slow, and our desires so impatient, the work of progress is so immense, and our means of aiding it so feeble, the life of humanity being so long, and that of the individual so brief, that we often see the ebb of the advancing wave, and are thus discouraged. "It is history that teaches us to hope."  Not so, says my friend Frank.  He said to me, when I told him about the marvelous intervention of God to save Boston, after the prayers of it's citizens beseeching God to turn back a seemingly invincible armada of French warships, that We can't "magically" save the Country, "that ship has already sailed"? Reverend Thomas Prince didn't get the memo."  And in another email, after I reminded him that principles are eternal, Frank had this to say: "Whether or not the Republic was founded on religious principles doesn’t matter to me, because 1)the Republic is dead, the Declaration of Independence is a declaration of a war that is over, and the Constitution is dead. "No further comment on it (from me) is needed." So, that's the way it is, huh Frank?  That's pretty cynical.  So where's my shovel?  I'll just go dig a hole and crawl in, and maybe eat some worms.   There is no forward thrust in cynicism.  Or, as Peggy Noonan says,  "Cynicism is not realistic and tough. It's unrealistic and kind of cowardly because it means you don't have to try." So, Frank, I want to make two things clear:   (1) I know things are bad, I know elections are rigged, I know the government is spying on us, I know corruption is entrenched in high places, I know all that.  I have been warning about it for over 35 years.  (2)  But, there is another thing that I know.  I know, whether the Constitution is dead or not, so was Lazarus.  I know: God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. And as Benjamin Franklin said, "God governs in the affairs of men".  And I know that one of the major causes, if not THE major cause of our predicament is the fact that we have lost God's promised protection on this land because of our wickedness.  The God of the Bible warns us that nations, as well as individuals will reap blessings or cursings based upon whether or  not we follow His rules and commandments of interpersonal and international behavior.  "Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord", is not just a cute slogan.  And it has it's opposite.  Liberty is the "natural", or created state of man, and the rights of life, liberty and property are the endowment of our Creator. He commanded his people, long ago, to "proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." (Leviticus 25:10).  That is our heritage, that is our gift from God, and we can keep it only upon principles He has set forth.  He can save us; He has saved America more than once, and as Robert E. Lee said, history teaches us to hope. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.  We have no reason to give up, to let the disease of cynicism paralyze us.  Evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Trying times My friend Frank is actually doing something, albeit sad.  He is "prepping" as we all should be, but he is preparing to leave America for a country with more freedom.  He is going to be a deserter. This saddens me.  Times are tough, things look bleak, just like they did December 23rd, 1776, when George Washington had a pamphlet read to his weary, hungry and outnumbered troops. In the pamphlet "The American Crisis", Thomas Paine had something to say about this: These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. I'm sorry, but those words, though written over two centuries ago, are not dead.  They ring out today lout and clear to all who will hear.  Washington, Paine, Madison, Monroe, and all the brave soldiers  who fought  in the Battle of Trenton two days later, refused to let cynicism take over their minds and bodies. Their miraculous success was amazing, even to Washington himself, and caused him to thank God.  This is a lesson that, once again, as Lee told us, "it is history that teaches us to hope." Rome offers innumerable lessons from the past that are as important today as if they happened only yesterday.  Rome's once majestic Republic crumbled beneath the weight of licentiousness, greed and lust for power.  The situation was hopeless, yet Marcus Tullius Cicero spoke out, warned, pleaded with and scolded his fellow leaders to turn back and embrace once again the principles and practices that made of Rome the envy of the world.  Knowing of the intrigue and hate-inspired jealousy of those whose careers he threatened, he kept on, refusing to give into cynicism.  In the end, he gave his life, a victim of assassination, rather than stop his valiant efforts to increase liberty, integrity and greatness in his beloved Rome.  Thus, he is remembered as "the man who tried to save Rome". To sum up, Frank is a dear friend of mine.  I have stood by him in very difficult times, and I have no doubt that he would to the same for me if the opportunity arose. He and I have many things in common, among them music and golf.  And though we disagree, our friendship remains strong. In the arena of ideas is where our differences lie.  Frank's views are not unique.  There seems to be an outbreak of this malady, cynicism.  Many are infected.  But there is a vaccine and a treatment protocol.  They are both the same. As the Founders wrote in the Northwest Ordinance, the same Congress that had just ratified the new Constitution, Art. 3. "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." So there you have it, religion, morality and knowledge are essential to freedom, and that is why Bibles and Hymnals were purchased by Congress and state governments for use in the schools.  These principles are the answer, the recipe, and the means for our revival. And they were placed in order of importance in the document.  My friends, during this "holiday" season, let us never forget what holiday it is that we are celebrating; let us not forget our part in this vast undertaking of defending liberty and God-given rights. Say no to cynicism.  Inoculate yourself against its ravages.  If you find yourself  with symptoms, stop, take a moment look at history, look at your children, look to the Word of God, and look to the many examples in your life today who are shining examples of hope, action and faithfulness. Then, pick yourself up, prayerfully find something you can actually do to spread the word of freedom. Share information with your friends, family and neighbors, volunteer with a good organization that is established and respected.  Donate to the same. Longfellow was not a victim nor a carrier of cynicism. I heard the bells on Christmas day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men. And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men. Till ringing, singing on its way The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a chant sublime Of peace on earth, good will to men. And in despair I bowed my head “There is no peace on earth,” I said, “For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men.” Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men.” This is a long post, but I am constrained to do it.  I close with this excerpt from a great American, Ezra Taft Benson, secretary of Agriculture under Eisenhower, and President and Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “There are people today all over the world who in their own courageous and sometimes quiet ways are working for freedom. In many cases we will never know until the next life all they sacrificed for liberty. These patriots are receiving heaven's applause for the role they are playing, and in the long run that applause will be louder and longer than any they could receive in this world. "Which leads me to the second blind spot of those who hesitate to get into the fight. And that is their failure to realize that we will win in the long run, and for keeps, and that they pass up great blessings by not getting into the battle now when the odds are against us and the rewards are greatest. "The only questions, before the final victory, are, first, ‘What stand will each of us take in this struggle?’ and second, ‘How much tragedy can be avoided by doing something now?’ "Time is on the side of truth—and truth is eternal. Those who are fighting against freedom may feel confident now, but they are shortsighted. "This is still God's world. The forces of evil, working through some mortals, have made a mess of a good part of it. But it is still God's world. In due time, when each of us has had a chance to prove ourselves-including whether or not we are going to stand up for freedom—God will interject himself, and the final and eternal victory shall be for free agency. And then shall those complacent people on the sidelines, and those who took the wrong but temporarily popular course, lament their decisions. To the patriots I say this: Take that long eternal look. Stand up for freedom, no matter what the cost. Stand up and be counted. It can help to save your soul-and maybe your country.” (Ezra Taft Benson, An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 62.)  Let's get to work. FRDMWRX

Whose Side Are You On?

Must We Take Sides?

Indeed, we must.

Posted by Rick Dalton 

 

These days are not the "good old days". 

 They're the radical dangerous new days.

As hard as it is to admit and face up to it, we are facing a great societal schism in America, and indeed, in the world.  That this day would come has been a theme of more than one forward-looking patriot.  Many prophets from ancient days have written about our time. 

Thomas Jefferson warned that happiness for future generations would depend on the federal government protecting people's rights, and refraining from "taking care of them".  George Washington warned that we would not have peace and prosperity if we entangled ourselves with foreign alliances that squandered the sovereignty that has been won by the blood of patriots.

We have dug ourselves into a very deep hole financially, and economically, with our embrace a long time ago of a national bank of private banksters that are deliberately dragging us down to the least common denominator.  Ayn Rand tried to tell us what was going to happen.

Most of our protective peace officers, now called law enforcement officers, are very nearly militarized, nationalized, and have shed the mantle of "protect and serve" in favor enforcer and controller.  The myriad federal agencies that were once mere nuisances have become storm troopers with their own SWAT teams.

There are still quite a number of "good guys" who really are peace officers out there, but their ranks are dwindling due to the training they receive.

Increasingly, there is a division taking place on the streets, in the homes, and workplaces of America.  It's not the between the street criminals and the law abiding citizens.  That division has existed for centuries.  It is, sadly, a division between citizens in the private sector and those in the public (governmental) sector.  This division is breaking down traditional respect and support for those in the executive branch whose job it is to enforce laws.  Instead of seeing themselves as servant-protectors, they see themselves as supervisor-controllers.  They must be stopped.

 

EPA nightmare

So many agencies of the fedgov have gone off-base that it's hard to say which one is doing the most damage to America.  The EPA has declared war on coal mining and refining, along with lead refining.  In doing so, it has reduced our energy production as well as putting a nail in the coffin of domestic manufacture of bullets.  That's right, bullets.  This is just another way of attacking the 2nd Amendment.  Guns, after all, are no good without bullets.  The EPA must be stopped.

 

Injustice from the Justice Department

The federal umbrella agency over law enforcement is arrayed against law abiding Americans in a number of ways.  Siding with illegal aliens who break our laws against US citizens, Eric Holder's  department has sued states who attempt to do the job that the feds have refused (not simply failed) to do.  Holder should be, and probably will be,  impeached.  He must be stopped.

 

North American Union

The plan to usher in the New World Order has been regionalized for decades.  The march to the current European Union started with a seemingly benign trade treaty.  Gradually it grew and spread till it was a regional government, with basically all of Europe now under it's control.  Sovereignty of nations is a thing of the past.  Zbigniew Brezhinsky's book Between Two Worlds which was published in the mid 1970s, declared the bold intention of the PTB to create a one world government, and the end of national sovereignty.   And now, the North American Union, between the US, Canada, and Mexico, is rising before our eyes.  NAFTA, CAFTA, and other planks of the plan are already working.  The United Nations, which is the track on which the train of collectivism is gaining speed, is the catalyst.  It must be stopped.

 

A bullet train

But the treaty now being negotiated, basically behind closed doors, by the administration, will seal the deal.  If implemented, it will spell the end of American Sovereignty.  Obama aims to have it so with or without the Constitution's mandate that the US Senate must ratify all treaties or they have no effect.  This monstrosity is deadly to freedom and though it claims to be a trade treaty, about half of it's chapters do not involve trade at all. 

 

The mainstream media is not touching it.  It must be stopped.

 

A Poke in the Electric Eye

The massive surveillance state that has been created in the US is another assault on freedom.  The NSA has many sites for snooping that are all off limits to regular people.  The new one in Bluffdale , Utah, is perhaps the largest.  The unconstitutional nature of it's spying does not worry it's creators in the least.  But a new idea spawned by several groups, including the Tenth Amendment Center, is aimed at shutting the facility down by cutting off its lifeblood - its supply of water.  It has to be stopped, one way or another.  We have to take a stand.  This must be stopped.

 

Sovereigns or Slaves?

This is the big question.  There are increasingly only two sides one can choose in this battle for liberty.  On the one side is the PTB (Powers that Be).  Rich, powerful, and others their useful idiots.  They will stop at nothing until their goal is achieved.  (Read Carroll Quigley's book Tragedy and Hope, which outlines the plan and those behind it.)  Those on this side include the leadership of both major political parties.  Don't believe it?  Do some real research.  Contact me if you don't know how, and I will point you in the right direction.

 

On the other side are millions who are tired, scared, and mad as hell.  We must get up from watching and yelling at the TV and do something.  We must refuse to allow anymore of our rights to be destroyed.  We must be willing to use any and every means to prevent it from happening.  Yes, I said EVERY means.  There are many types and descriptions of people on OUR side.  But the best way, the most motivational way to describe us is WE THE PEOPLE.

 

We must recognize the enemy.  The DOMESTIC enemies of the Constitution.  I took an oath and still hold that oath sacred.  Hundreds of Thousands of people have taken that oath. 

 

Any and every citizen who wants to remain free must take it also.  Contact organizations like Oath Keepers, Wall Builders, the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peach Officers Association, the National Center for Constitutional Studies, the Tenth Amendment Center, and others.  Don't start your own new organization.  Join with these solid, respected and proven groups.  Donate to them, volunteer for them and take a stand.

 

Whose side are you on?

 

FRDMWRX